The debate over development in suburban Brisbane is heating up, with some residents concerned the rules are being bent to accommodate new high-rise housing projects.

In the inner city suburb of Woolloongabba, a number of local residents are determined to fight a proposed development they said was in breach of the local area plan, which stipulates a maximum height of 15 storeys.

Sally Dillon said she carefully checked the city plan before her family bought their home three years ago, but developers were not abiding by restrictions.

"They want to have buildings that are 21 storeys instead of 15," she said.

"Instead of 20-metre frontages they want to have 48; they want to have 17-storey towers within 16 metres of little two-storey tin and timber cottages. I think it is making a mockery of the whole city plan.

"The fact that developers can just come in and say: 'No, we want to go higher, we want to go wider, we want to go closer to neighbours'."

"The kind of incremental devastation of rolling the city centre out with a little bit further now, a little bit further then, can give you the bombed-out look which you get in places like Kansas," he said.

"We really do need to think about liveability. Cities that just pour concrete on everything don't attract the bright young people. Nowadays it's not so much that people go to where the jobs are. It's that jobs go to where the people want to be."

Across the river in Upper Kedron, residents are battling the developers of Cedar Woods.

Both sides are awaiting a State Government ruling on the $900 million development plan to build 980 new homes adjacent the D'Aguilar National Park.

Brisbane City Council had approved the project, but State Planning Minister Jackie Trad made the controversial decision to call in the project and could overrule the council's decision.

An announcement is expected before the end of the month.

Ms Trad is concerned the overall planning balance was too much in favour of developers.

She said the Government was looking to restore the rights of residents to appeal against certain decisions.

"We've made it clear all of those third party appeal rights that the Newman government extinguished or made harder for Queenslanders to access in terms of having their voices heard would be changed by an ALP government," Ms Trad said.

But she said could not say when those changes would be made.

Almost half Cedar Woods site will be green space: developer

Cedar Woods executive director Paul Sadleir argued 90 hectares or 40 per cent of his company's site was set aside for green space.

He said bus and cycle routes would also be provided, reducing traffic concerns.

"This project is shovel-ready. It will have about 600 onsite jobs and then a multiple of that offsite in building supplies, so we think it's an important part for the Queensland economy," he said.

But Leonie Henriks lives near the development site and sees it differently.

She said koalas were her closest neighbours during summer months.

Not everybody wants to live in a detached dwelling with a backyard.

Chris Mountford, Property Council of Australia

"This is a significant area. It's running straight through a wildlife corridor that provides a safe haven for a broad range of native animals," she said.

"We've got koalas, a range of wallabies, extensive birdlife. To add more people into the mix, you're really just looking at losing all of that."

Property Council of Australia executive director Chris Mountford defended the projects, saying they created jobs and provided different housing styles.

"Not everybody wants to live in a detached dwelling with a backyard ... and there's a housing affordability element as well," he said.

"If we aren't able to accommodate additional people and growth we're actually going to see young people locked out of the housing market."

He said the industry needed certainty.

"Ultimately what the industry is looking for is a fair degree of certainty in the system so that means that there's a clear decision-making process.

"And that there's confidence when decisions are made that they'll be carried through."